I came across this thread after searching on Google in regards to Budget Saleen's, I can offer some insight as my father was the GM for the Budget franchise (not corp) that purchased these vehicles back then. Their main location was in Santa Ana so these were rented out of John Wayne Airport in OC, LAX, and for awhile in San Diego.
My father drove one of the `96 speedster models (Rio Red, 5-spd) as a demo for a year, can't remember the number as I was 10 at the time. It did have an oil burning issue at the time. I also rode in many of them in the few years they were around, probably have been in some of the owner's cars on this board! Some random memories I can touch on:
-White models had white wheels.
-The kill switch starters were a pain for customers.
-Curb rash was a constant issue with the low profile tires.
-I remember some of these models looked and felt a bit rough after their rental stint, no surprise of course.
-Rode in a cherry red (laser red?) model with no rear defroster which was odd. Great color though!
-We had a deep violet 5-spd for a weekend, brand new. Loved that color!
-We drove an automatic moonlight blue model for a few weeks, it had a light colored interior, pretty neat color combo.
-Rode in one of those 2 green manual models, it felt like it had definitely been put through its paces.
If anything else comes to mind I will make sure to add more!
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